“All ships, jump down into VI.”
The lights dimmed, the nausea came, and suddenly they fell through the hole in space and were in the lower dimension. While the enemy fleet continued on in VII, soon passing them.
“Change vector in this direction,” order Merkle, outlining the course she wanted on the plot. They couldn't, of course, change their course completely for some time. They started boosting on a different vector that in time would bring them onto the ordered course.
“The enemy are decelerating at maximum rate,” said the navigator. “Estimate they will be able to jump in twelve minutes.”
And we'll jump down again when they do. Hopefully they will accelerate again up to over point three. Of course she couldn't count on that. Or they might see where she was shifting and give up. Because the vector she wanted led right into the oncoming battle cruiser force.
Ten minutes later the enemy force jumped down to VI, furiously decelerating so they could change vectors. That was fine with Merkle, pulling up the navigator's estimate on a side viewer. It would take them at least an hour to slow down and shift vectors, and the Northrup and her escorts would be much further from contact by then. And by the time the enemy got within beam range, the battle cruisers would be there.
If Merkle needed any evidence that the original alien commander had been aboard the battleship they had taken out, it was this. A smart commander would have given up and ordered his ships to scatter. There were still almost a hundred ships in that formation, and there was no way the oncoming human force could go after all of them. There just weren't enough wormhole armed ships, and destroyers and light cruisers without wormholes wouldn't stand a chance against the larger Caca ships in a beam fight. They might be able to get some of the enemy with missiles, which the enemy, so far, had shown no ability to launch. The smart bet was that some would still get away. But the Caca commander was single mindedly coming after her.
The enemy was still coming after her, creeping into beam range, when she jumped again. And again the enemy had to decelerate to follow. The battle cruiser force had appeared on the plot and were closing, keeping their velocity down to point three three light, letting Merkle know they were equipped with the new hyperdrives.
“We have contact with the battle cruiser flag, ma'am. Admiral Lei on the com.”
“Duchess,” said Merkle as the image of the Asian full admiral appeared on the com. “I'm surprised that I have you coming to my aid.”
Mei Lei was the overall commander of Mgonda's scout force, and probably too important, and busy, to be assigned a rescue mission.
“Luck of the draw, Captain,” said the woman, sitting in a command chair and stroking the fur of a long furred cat. “I just happened to be with the closest force. We're just about to launch missiles at the enemy. Ready for a show.”
The icons of missiles appeared on the plot, moving at the same velocity as their launching ships, point three three light. They immediately radiated stronger graviton readings and jumped down to hyper V, then accelerated ahead.
“We have missiles with the new warp drives?” asked Merkle in a voice brimming with excitement.
“We do. Not many, and not fully combat tested. So R & D has you to thank for giving us such wonderful targets. We will be alongside you in fifty-seven minutes. Do you have any people that need evacuation.”
“Yes,” said Merkle, nodding. Her own medical resources had been stretched, and there were some people who had been stabilized and placed in cryo. That was safe enough, and they could be fully repaired later, but she would still feel better if they were started on the way to recovery as soon as possible.
“We have missile impact,” called out the tactical officer.
Merkle glanced over at the plot, to see the wave of missiles intersect the enemy formation. A score of ships fell off the plot, then some more, and the rest seemed to have had enough. The formation started to split as ships went onto individual evasive maneuvers.
We've won, thought the captain, tears coming to her eyes. She felt triumphant. And she felt a deep melancholi. So many people had died on the other ships, joined by many from her own. But her decisive actions had prevented more from joining them, and for that she would always be profoundly grateful.
* * *
“How are you doing, Chief Finn?” asked a familiar voice by the side of the bed.
Marcia turned over, saw her captain, and tried to get into a position of attention.
“At ease, Chief,” said Gail Merkle, smiling down at her.
“Yes, ma'am.”
“You're going to be fine, Chief. And I expect you to work with the yard dogs on getting this old girl back into shape.”
“Yes, ma'am,” said Finn, then the form of address from the captain hit her.
“Chief?”
“Yep. Signed the promotion myself a few minutes ago. And well deserved. Oh, and you will be getting a medal or two to go with it. You've earn it. And you have my thanks and those of the officers and crew of the Northrup. Your actions, along with those of your team, went a long ways to insuring we survived. Now, I've got to move on and talk to the rest of our wounded.”
The captain saluted her, and walked away, leaving Finn with her own thoughts.
Chief, thought the spacer, a smile on her face. And the captain came to me to tell me personally. Well how about that. Her eyes followed the captain as she walked over to another bed, looking down at the unconscious man on it and mumbling something. Probably a prayer.
I guess we're going to say goodbye to the old lady, thought Finn, a feeling of sorrow coming over her. Merkle had given the orders that had saved them from the enemy. Surely command would promote her as well. And which ship would she choose for her flag? Surely not this old wreck.
* * *
“You're going to be okay, Commander Francois-Ramirez,” said the gentle voice of the nurse looking down on her. “Some light radiation damage, but we're going to take care of that right now.”
Sheila let out a sigh of relief. She had made it. Relief, joy, all the better emotions of the survivor. Later would come the guilt and regrets over those who hadn't. But right now she was going to go with the positive.
I made it, Henri, she thought, looking forward to the day when she could see her husband again. Perhaps she could use her survivors leave to go out to the Nation of New Earth to see him. And then another thought struck.
“How is my passenger?”
“The infantry trooper you took aboard your pod is okay. A lot of radiation damage, but we'll be able to fix that. That's one remarkable story. He was from another ship, so we really can't figure out how he found you. But luckily he did.”
There is a God, thought the officer with conviction. And he was looking out for us.
Epilogue
SEPTEMBER 2ND, 1004. CAPITULUM, JEWEL.
“And we're changing up the way we will deploy into new systems,” said Grand High Admiral Sondra McCullom, the Chief of Naval Operations. “The carriers and logistics trains will be forging into the systems with the battle groups. The might leave them open to battle damage it the enemy engages the battle group, but it won't leave them out there like fat targets.”
“I agree,” said Sean, looking around the conference table. “We tried to safeguard them, and all we did was set them up.” Faces fell around the table, and Sean was quick to interject. “The final decision was mine, like most. So the blame lies squarely on my shoulders. I don't want any of you beating yourselves up over this. The buck stops with me.”
“Your Majesty,” said Duke Taelis Mgonda, nodding. “No one blames you. We need to continue with stopping the blame game. It does no good. Let the damned politicians play that game. We're too good for that.”
“Here here,” said Admiral Lenkowski, his simulation sitting the chair next to that of the Duke. “I say we leave the past behind, after making sure it doesn't get repeated. We have an Empire to conquer, and the clock is ticking.”
Sean smiled a
s he looked at his two senior commanders. They had served well, almost always positive, with good suggestions. Fine tactical minds that almost unfailingly made the right decisions. He wouldn't trade them for anyone. He also spared a glance for Beata Bednarczyk, getting ready to kick off her own offensive on the other front. He didn't know her as well, but so far so good with that one.
“We still have a long fight ahead of us,” he said, looking down. “Many more lives will be lost. I can't say how long this will take, and the day this Mrastaran took the throne the inevitable victory became a much longer prospect. But don't anyone lose faith. We will win this thing.”
There were grunts of ascent, no one voicing any doubts. A look at the faces around the table showed that everyone believed what their Emperor had said. This was not a panel of yes men, and they would let him know if they thought him wrong. That was what he wanted, since he knew he was only human. A genetically enhanced advanced version, but still only human.
“So, everyone is in position, yes?”
Heads nodded, and there were no disagreements.
“Then at nine AM Capitulum time we will kick off the three pronged attack,” continued Sean, looking at the holo hanging over the table. One that showed the entire Ca'cadasan Empire, along with their axes of advance on all fronts. “This will not be the last offensive. It will not be the end, but with luck it will be the beginning of the end.”
The holos faded away, leaving Sean with the only live participant of the conference. He buried his face in his hands for a moment, feeling the fatigue of leadership that threatened to overwhelm him.
“Perhaps you Majesty should take a break,” said Admiral Sergiov, patting him on the back.
“With three major offensives about to kick off,” said Sean, looking up and shaking his head. “No. But as soon as these wind down I intend to take Jennifer and the boys to my compound in the islands. I think a little sailing might be good for all of us.”
* * *
SEPTEMBER 7TH, 1004. CA'CADASAN SPACE.
“The enemy is in the positions we want them to be in,” said the Chief of Staff, pointing to the large icons on the regional map. “As are our two fleets.”
“Then we will kick off the offensive tomorrow, while they are in a vulnerable position,” said Mrastaran. “If all goes well, we will see some of their forces retreating, allowing us to regain territory. If we are very lucky we might be able to surround and destroy enough of their force to give our next offensive an advantage.”
So many unknowns, thought the Emperor, sinking his face into a pair of upper hands.
“Perhaps you need a break, Supreme Lord,” said the Chief of Staff.
“With a major offensive about to kick off. There is no way I will step away from this post until this offensive is underway. After that I might take a week at the Imperial Preserve, before the next offensive takes off.”
And after that, who knows? Perhaps the human Emperor will see reason, and we can ask him to the bargaining table. Mrastaran had no aspirations for winning this war. But if he could preserve most of the Empire, even with major concessions, he would consider that a victory. Perhaps if he had been in charge at the beginning things might have gone differently. An invasion of human space, giving quarter to captives, then offering an honorable occupation. Maybe, though from the way the humans had been fighting even that might have been too much to ask.
The End
About the Author
Doug Dandridge is the author of over thirty self-published books on Amazon, including the very successful, Exodus: Empires at War series, the Refuge techno-fantasy series, The Deep Dark Well Trilogy, as well as numerous standalone science fiction and fantasy novels. In a six-and-a-half-year period as a self-published author, Doug has sold well over two hundred and eighty thousand eBooks, paperbacks and audio books. He has amassed over 6,000 reviews across his books on Amazon, with a 4.6 star average, and a similar number of ratings on Goodreads with a 4.12 star average. His first traditionally published series, Kinship War, is now out, and he has written a novel, When Eagles Dare, in Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey’s Four Horsemen series. He served in the US Army as an infantryman, as well as several years in the Florida National Guard in the same MOS. Doug, who holds degrees from Florida State University and the University of Alabama, lives with his four cats in Tallahassee Florida. He is a sports enthusiast and a self-proclaimed amateur military historian.
Books by Doug Dandridge
Science Fiction
The Deep Dark Well Trilogy
The Deep Dark Well: An Adventure 40,000 years in the making. Pandora Latham was a Kuiper Belt Miner from Alabama. She’s used to landing on her feet, even when the next surface is through a wormhole, halfway across the Galaxy and 46,000 years in the Future. Pandora must discover the secret behind the end of civilization, and the enigma of the Immortal Watcher, the last survivor of the Empire that once ruled the stars. Her decisions will set the path for Galactic recovery, or a continuation down the roads of Barbarism.
To Well and Back: Pandora Latham is back, working Watcher’s plan to restore Galactic Civilization. But first she has to deal with the Xenophobes of the Nation of Humanity, back in the Supersystem with their sights set on making the Galaxy their own. Pandora is angry at the hyper religious Nation, and you don’t want to make a woman from Alabama angry.
Deeper and Darker: Pandora Latham is on the warpath. Watcher, her lover, and the only man who can once again unite the Galaxy, is a prisoner of the Totalitarian government of the New Galactic Empire. The Empire thinks they have the upper hand, but they have never faced someone like Pandi, and the peoples of the Galaxy that she has rallied to her cause.
Theocracy: A young gunpowder era monk becomes the only hope for his doomed world as he is caught up in the game of empire between two more advanced cultures.
Theocracy Book 2: With the aid of Watcher, Patrick O’Brien and his partners, including some new alien allies, quest across multiple worlds in a search for the control center that could save his world.
The Exodus Series
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 1: The introduction to the Exodus Universe. Two thousand years prior mankind fled from the Predatory Ca’cadasans, traveling a thousand years and ten thousand light years to a new home. Now the greatest power of their sector of space, things seem to be going well for the New Terran Empire. Until the enemy appears once again at the gates. And the years have not softened the aliens’ stance toward Humanity.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 2: The saga continues. The Ca’cadasans attack at the moment when the government of the Empire is at its most chaotic. There are other enemies as well, waiting for their chance to fall on the overwhelmed humans. And a young man with no ambition for power finds himself in the position he most dreads.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 3: Sean is rescued, but he is not about to go back to the safety of the capital without striking back at the Ca’cadasans who have invaded his Empire. But will his decision put the lives of thousands at risk, as well as risking the safety of his own Empire, by depriving it of its leader.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 4: Sean is crowned Emperor and attempts to organize the Empire for war against the Ca’cadasans. But he finds that planning battles and winning battles are two different things. Defeat follows defeat. Can anyone snatch victory from the jaws of defeat? Or will the new Emperor fail before his reign even really begins.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 5: Ranger: Cornelius Walborski enters the rigors of Ranger training, becoming one of the augmented warriors of the Empire. But his first assignment, Azure, is one of the deadliest planets in the Galaxy, even prior to the coming of the Cacas. Can Cornelius survive his first mission? Or will a promising career end before it really begins.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 6: The Day of Battle: Sean and the Empire need a victory before human morale goes completely into the black hole. He develops a plan to bring the Ca’cadasans into battle in space of his choosing. But the Cacas are not an ea
sy opponent, and they have plans of their own, for the Donut.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 7: Counter Strike: The Empire has weathered the Ca’cadasan onslaught, and now it’s the time to strike back with an offensive of their own. A victory could win the war. But will it?
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 8: Soldiers: The Cacas have been ejected from Imperial space, for the moment. But millions of citizens of New Moscow are still held captive in death camps in their former empire, processed for rations for the large aliens. Sean is determined to save as many as he can, and the Fleet and Army are prepared to carry out his directive; free the prisoners at all costs.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 9: Second Front: The exploration mission sent around the edge of the Ca’cadasan Empire has found the other Empire at war with the large aliens. They are not as expected, and Sean must order his military to perform actions that could vilify him in the eyes of his new allies.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 10: Search & Destroy: The Fenri, all but beaten, have not given up, and their new plan promises random death and destruction in the Empire. The Cacas have launched a new offensive against the Klavarta, and their new commander is much more intelligent than the last.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 11: Day of Infamy: The Cacas have a plan to end the war by taking out the capital system and the Donut at the same time. Only the bravery of the Imperial military can prevent a disaster from which the Empire can’t recover.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 12: Time Strike: The Cacas have launched another invasion, and Sean had been approached with the idea of hitting them where it hurts, back in time. But messing with the time stream is never a good idea.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 13: Retaliation: The Caca offensive has been turned back, and now it’s the time for the Empire to get some payback. But desperation will often breed deadly reactions, and this time is no different.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 17: The Rebirth Page 26
